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Review: 70316 Jestro’s Evil Mobile Introduction I wonder when the last time you caught sight of a siege tower with flaming wheels and a jester's hat rolling towards you... that's right, it must have been in your nightmares after a late night over a LEGO catalogue! Jestro's Evil Mobile is aptly named - a fearsome vehicle that screams things like, "bad guy!" and "RUN!" First of all, here's an "official" picture of the set... Jestro’s Evil Mobile Set Number: 70316 Theme: Nexo Knights Minifigures: 2, plus one large monster and one book with a big mouth Piece Count: 658 Price: USD $59.99 Box & Instructions The Nexo Knight color scheme of blue, silver, and orange has translated over to the box art for this set, giving it quite a high-tech appearance, in fact. At the same time, the rolling green hills with a castle and skyline in the background are reminiscent of previous, more traditional Castle themes. The back of the box illustrates a few of the play possibilities the set offers, and it also dedicates a corner to the Nexo Knights game. Next step is to despoil the box of its lovely contents… five bags numbered one through four (there are two threes), two instruction booklets, a sticker sheet, and a couple of wheels. The instruction booklets follow the box’s design on the front. There are nine stickers printed on a white background, all of them pretty essential for the final design and none too hard to apply. And now! On to… The Minifigures The set includes two standard minifigures: Lance and Jestro. Both have excellently detailed torsos and legs, and Lance’s chrome arms are great. So is his mask, and Jestro’s cape is really nice too. Jestro and Lance both have double sided heads… and they both have cheesy grins, too… Speaking of cheesy grins, the Book of Monsters has got a monster-sized one for you. If books had ears, its face would be split right across. Looks to me like the cover is a pre-applied sticker, but the inside tile is printed. Lastly, we have the large monster in charge of hauling the mobile – we’ll have more to say about him later on but for now, he has a minifigure scaled head with one gargantum eye, and quite an interesting horned helmet perched on top. He also has a pair of wings… which I guess put him in the category of flightless birds… I could totally see this dude in the zoo across from the ostriches, couldn’t you? Construction Process We jump right into the building with the first bag! This builds Lance’s “horse” and the monster. Bag two starts out on the Mobile. It provides the groundwork for the chomping mechanism of the bottom teeth. Bag three is actually two bags. Jestro is evidently a bit fragile physically as well as emotionally… at any rate, he’s been handled with care and is all wrapped up. Lastly comes bag four, and along with it we’ll use the flame orange wheels. And the Mobile is complete! As always, there are a handful of extra pieces… including one that I somehow missed during the building process. Whoopsie. The time spent building was enjoyable – or would have been if it hadn’t been blowing a gale (practically). The grand outdoors is my photo studio, so that complicates matters a bit. There were a few “aha!” moments as things came together, and I especially admired the tires around those flame orange wheels! The Final Set The final set is of a satisfying size, and there are quite a few neat functions packed in there. First of all, let’s take a look at Lance’s horse speeder. The shape of the head has really been nailed here, and the vehicle is instantly recognizable. And I just can’t get over the ingenuity of using a motorcycle covering backwards! Moving on to the Mobile and the monster, the attachment points there are pretty clever. The monster clips on with a clip hinge, and then two chains stretch from the Mobile to his arms. The end result is easy to pull around. The Mobile has a fearsome face, with the narrowest slits of eyes. Speaking of eyes, I’ve noticed that good guy Nexo Knight vehicles use the more neon color of trans-orange, while the villains use the less glaring shade – something I was glad of in this instance, as I far prefer the villains’ color. The bottom teeth grind up and down as the Mobile is wheeled back and forth. At the back of the mobile, the back flap opens to reveal something of a dungeon inside. The skeleton head is a nice touch. On top, there’s also a treasure chest with a few 1x1 round tiles in warm gold. Jestro’s chair has another intriguing function – it can be moved back and forth for a concealed or exposed position. The concealed position just matches the slit in the large black piece facing forwards. What evil vehicle would be complete without catapults? Not this one, that’s for sure. Dual flanking catapults are more than ready to launch flame balls at any decent minifigure who dares show his face! I said that we would talk a bit more about the large monster, and so we shall. He’s chockfull of black jumpers and the new spiky 1x1 slopes in trans-orange, which is fantastic. He also comes with an interesting printed breastplate piece. Conclusion Before Jestro rolls off in his flashy new mobile to show those Nexo Knights a thing or two, let's share a few concluding thoughts on this set. It's fun, whimsical, and has plenty of functions. The alternating red and black color scheme is visually striking and the bulk of the final machine is satisfying and definitely leaves you with the impression that there isn't much this monster can't roll over. And let's not forget Lance's clever futuristic horse - an instantly recognizable design and lots of fun! Playability: 9/10 – What more could you ask for than an opening ramp out back, a detachable monster, chomping teeth, catapults and a movable seat? In a nutshell: this set just begs to be played with! Design: 5/10 – The playable part of the design is spot on, but the overall impression is a confusing one. The large mouth and tiny eyes make the head hard to really understand, and the extra colors such as gold and orange and grey are a little distracting. Also, the vehicle is wide and short for a siege engine, which seems to have been the inspiration. With such massive wheels, it really deserved a second story. Minifigures: 8/10 – There are only two actual minifigures, which for a set this size isn't many, but they're both wonderfully printed and look fantastic. And then there's also the monster, which is very posable and makes use of a great combination of minifigure sized pieces and larger parts. Lastly there's the Book of Monsters, with a great new book mold and a very unique printed tile. Price: 7/10 – This would unquestionably make a great set for any youngster interested in big bad machines. It's much more of a play set than a display piece, which is to be expected. On the other hand, it has some great pieces - lots of 1x1 round plates with holes, for instance! Overall: 7.25/10 – I could certainly recommend this set for children - my siblings had a blast pulling it around for an hour or so (not to say pulling it to pieces...). For me, it's value lies more in the parts - and there's plenty to like there. But if you're looking for a set to display, honestly, this isn't it. The colors and shapes make it too confusing visually, as you have probably noticed in the above pictures (allow me to take the time to assure that it was not the orange background that messed with your eyes... the set really is like that!). So to sum it up: a great set to play with, a fair parts pack, but in my opinion not something that would look good on a shelf. Questions and comments welcome!
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